Grandfather's New Plants

Volunteers from the Atlanta Botanical Garden and agents of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service helped install "carpets of endangered plant species" on cliffs on Grandfather Mountain (in western North Carolina) which had been eroded from years of traffic by hang gliders. (Link)

"The endangered plant species planted this year were Blue Ridge Goldenrod, Hellar’s Blazing Star and Roan Mountain Bluets. Seeds for these wildflowers had been collected from neighboring areas on Grandfather last season and propagated over the winter at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

"Plants installed on the cliff during similar conservation efforts in 2003 and 2004 looked healthy. Among the most encouraging observations made by the conservation team was that one of the globally threatened Roan Mountain Bluets planted in years past was in bloom."